Chapter 1
Reducing Poverty & Promoting Sustainable Development Nepal has been successful in steadily reducing poverty from 25.2 per cent in 2011 to 23.8 per cent in 2013. The remittances sent by Nepali migrant workers has played an instrumental role in slashing the poverty figures. But the numbers belie a harsh reality: they come at high social costs and are ultimately unsustainable if not managed properly. Huge disparities and inequalities between regions and social groups exist. For example, access to sanitation is, according to Census 2011, approximately 21 per cent in Saptari and Siraha districts, compared to over 95 per cent in Kaski and Bhaktapur. Sanitation coverage in urban areas is 91 per cent, while the number drops to 55 per cent in rural areas, with less than 10 per cent coverage among the Madhesis and Dalits. A micro-entrepreneur in Birendranagar, Surkhet weaves Dhaka (Nepali cloth). Chandra Shekhar Karki /UNDP Nepal
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U ND P N E PAL AN N UAL RE P OR T 2013